Collapsible tube dispenser



1953 H. J. FOGARTY ET AL COLLAPSIBLE TUBE DISPENSER Filed June 17, 1949 FIG. 2 FIG. 2

25 PM I FIG. 3.

5 .w g if 8 INVENTORS HARLAND l FOGARTY EVA A. FOGARTY ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 20, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Harland J Fogarty and Eva A. Fogarty, San Bernardino, Calif.

Application June 17, 1949, Serial No. 99,762

1 Claim. (01. 222-103) This invention has to do with improvements in devices for dispensing the contents of collapsible tubes.

We are aware that various devices have been proposed for ejecting paste and the like from collapsible tubes, but such prior devices have possessed shortcomings which it is an object of the present invention to overcome.

It is a further object to provide simple and efficient means for evenly collapsing a collapsible tube in such a manner as to eject only the desired amount of the contained material during each operation, and yet so as eventually to eject substantially all the material from the tube by effecting complete collapse.

A further object is to provide an economical, one-piece tube collapsing clamp which is capable of collapsing the walls of the tube completely and evenly against each other.

Another object is to provide a clamp of this character which is so constructed that it will remain in engagement with the tube without the aid of auxiliary retaining means.

Such prior devices as did come to our attention have been of such inherent construction that they are incapable of fully stripping a tube and incapable of ejecting all the contents therefrm--that is, they have been capable of ejecting only a portion of the contents. It is therefore a further object of our invention to provide in a single device a combination of elements which enables a stripping and ejecting result far superior to anything which has heretofore been proposed.

Another object is to provide a dispenser of this type incorporating an eficient and convenient hanger for the tube being collapsed.

Another object is to provide a device of this character which may be operated readily and efficiently with or without a hanger for the tube, and, in either case, with but one hand, leaving the other hand free to hold a brush or the like to receive the contents of a tube as ejected.

Further objects will appear hereinafter.

Without any intention of thereby limiting the scope of the invention, but rather for the purpose of explaining how it may be carried into practice, we shall now describe the invention in one of its presently preferred embodiments, for which purpose we shall refer to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation showing the parts in position on a tube;

Fig. 2 is an elevation taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation showing the tube substantially collapsed and detached from the hanger;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the tube clamping member;

Fig. 5 is a top plan view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is an elevation taken from the right of Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged section taken on line l-l of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is an elevation showing a tube substan tially flattened and the clamping member reversed end for end for the purpose of finall stripping the tube; and

Fig. 9 is an enlarged view, partly in elevation and partly in section, showing the manner of applying the suspending link to a tube.

In general, we carry the invention into practice by combining in a single, simple one-piece device means for initially substantially collapsing a tube, means for giving the main bodyof the tube a secondary and more thorough stripping operation, and means for finally ejecting that portion of the contents of a tube which tend to collect beneath the relatively rigid concave end wall of the discharge end of the tube. The device includes generally a pair of clamping jaws connected at one end by a pair of spaced arched resilient webs, which permit the jaws to be moved into eihcient stripping engagement with a tube since they are capable of being moved into full and complete face to face contact with each other, such contact first occurring at the converging extremities of the jaws and increasing sufliciently in intensity at that point during further closure to prevent backfiow of contents as well as back movement 01 the device on the tube. At the opposite ends of the jaws, we provide special protuberances for engaging beneath the concave end wall of a tube, to eject material tending to collect at that point, and the device incorporates provision for so looking the jaws ,of the clamp in clamping engagement with the flattened portion of the tube as to prevent backflow of the material from said end portion as the final stripping operation is performed. By this arrangement, we provide extreme simplicity of construction and efiiciency of operation. In the preferred form of the invention, we also provide an efficient hanger for the tube, the clamp and hanger having contiguous end portions so formed as to permit the clamp to commence its ejecting operation at the extreme end of the tube.

In the following description we describe our pin "2-3 is secured at arched portion sidewalls; of the linksist sliding tn "thus; attaching The clamp comprises a pair *f 'flat a connected by two arched side portions or wees i1 defined by cutting away portions '61? the ina terial between the portions H. To facilitate even collapsing of the tube as well as eration it is our preference to curve the lower 'en; it of the qtiwstatwamiy "and -upit -ardly.-

Soafs to enable fun ellap's'i n'g or the tube'tl'ie archedportions l1 curve inwardly to intersect the top'e'rids of the aaesessimwn at 29, 'thus prestressing the clamp in such a manner "that the upper ends of the jaws are normallyseparated nl y by a yery narrow space 36, which is "afdistanc'e less than 'the' thickiis's'of the sealed-upper end E of the tube, but slightly greater than the thickness "or tnefletteaea tube, so that w-henthe tube is sandwiched between the jaws it isinov 'Ifheinner 'ed'g'e surfaces of the portion i! 'are I :etaine d between theup'perends of the jaws.

'preferablysmooth so'as'to permit free movement relative to the tube.

I The upper end of each jawbetween the web 'n'ter" inates in a flange 38 which intersects the contiguous end p'ortionof the jaw in a-curvebf verys'malljra'dius. This construction not only irhpartstransverse rigidity, "but also providesa'p'- propriat'ely roundedtube engaging surfaces.

'Ih:e hanger- 6' comprisesf'a U"-'shaped-bracl et 25 whose medial wall has screw or rivet holes to reeWeattac-hingriVets or-screws 26 bywhich'it :rna y"b'e attaehedtda s'h'elf'or the'like. A cross its'erids 'to the end legs of thebrackt and a substantially u sha'ped resilii'ent tube 'siispendinglink tb 'is suspended from cross fpin. The free ends 3 I of the 'linl; are inturne'dso as to engage beneath the sealing strip customarily provided to'seal the end ofa-toothease tube.

The'link "ac-i narrowenough to enter between H of the'clamp and th'us to p mitthe link to engage the 'end'of the "tube 'when'theclamp'is f rst mounted thereon and beforethe 'collapsi'ngof the tube is commenced.

Tnser-ti'on'of theend of the tube between the 3ll-is rendered easy by simply link upwardly on the cross pin '28,"as*shown in'Fig. 9, which spreads the free ends of the link apart far enough to permit-insertion "ofth'e end of the tube. The link is thenrnoved bach'on the cross pin, whichpermits the free fendsbf the link to "clamp'the endof the tube therebetween, as'shown in Figs. 1 and-2. Before the tube to thelink, the upper end of the tube is inserted between the jaws f of the clamp.

Thus, by removing the screw cap Gfromthe "discharge neck of'the tube and manu'al-ly'urging "thejaws of thefclamp together, the tube ise'venly collapsed without forming" wrinkles in the tube,

and the desiredarheunt of pasteisi' ejected from below the discharge neck of the tube. Such opto facilitate op- 'thetiitetntoa tbothbr ush which mayea held i protuberahces: are made --pr0tuberances 't practice we "find and then the other,

erations are repeated with the clamp moving downwardly along the flattened portion of the tube after each operation, until the tube is in the condition of Fig. 3 in which position the tube is flattened except for that portion immediately behind the concaved end wall W of the tube. Comp let e stripping of the remaining contents from the thus'flaittened .pdrtioh 'ef the tube may then be accomplished icy-raising the clamp on the tube to the sealing strip several times and, while pressing the jaws firmly together at the point where theyeenverge, drawing the clamp down the flattened tube as far as the jaws will permit. 1?; ertin gtlie clamp on the tube, stripping of the remainder of the flattened portion of the tube may-be aeeernplished in the same manner and the clamp is then in position to proceed with the 'fhialoperation of ejecting the paste from the unflattened portion immediately behind the concave end wall W of'tihe tube. Said end wall is usually relatively stiff as QQImmmd with the body of the tube and thus resists collapsing at that point. To eject the paste within that :portion of'the tube we. therefore provide an additional feature on, the clamp which will now be described. 7 r

The upper end 01: each o the lamp Jaws, between the arched portion -i'i,-has aprotuberance '35 fo m d n each. side of the s ace. it b twe n the upper ends. 0f the jaws, Each of these protuberances is formed providing anintegral ex tension portion 39, on the outer edge of the flan ed p rtion at and. then cur ng he ext nsion portion pwa d y drinw rd yi predeterancesafi, together, are preferably ovate'in plan 'ande ch is. conv x-l5! curved cross-section and in elevation so. that with the flattened tube'between them they will-fully fill the span beneath the concave'end wall Qf the tube. Ereferably-the ar nough q-fit under theend walloi the largest tube that the width of the clamp will-acc mmodate so'that they byvirtue. of their hape, lso fit under the end wall'of a smaller-tube Ina mu as ch. o thes 'protuberancjes. is shorter than the length of; the flange of which it fo ms. n t n on, he two hus nrq ide a e n position me.- dially between the webs'tocollapse the wall of the tube-und r th cncave end. wall. of 'the'tube, thus. enablin a template s r ui neieb- To mnlish this. final-stripping en ratien; it is necessary to. secure thejaws, of the clamp fully closed on the tube as close to the-endwall as y wi readi y so, esshcwn n Fig-firm .orderto exclude the, remaining contents from the previouslystripped portion of the tube, In it pref ra e tcse retbeiaws n he fully l sed-p sit n-by b ndi ej helat t'en'ed upper end ro tion f; he-tu lat ra ly over and under thecurved of first enejaw show. nits. a. hymen placing thethumb. ontllelateral y b nt-tub Sscuri ethe-jawsand the first w fing rs b ne h the-end wall-oi the. tubeand-cclnpressing-the tube axially the protuberances are forced under t av d ndwall of-the tub exp lling, th contents; therefrom.

Of-"course; our clamp; dispenser maybe utilized separatelyfrom the -hanger.that is,;-the tube-may be detached from the hanger with-the clamn't remaining thereon as shownin Fig. Then, by

holdingthe discharge end upwardly, thei tube automatically moves downwardlywithin the clamp.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that 5 our device is extremely economical to manufacture, simple to use, and it accomplishes a cleaner, more even and more completely collapsed tube than has heretofore been possible with dispensers of the prior art.

We claim:

A one-piece tube collapsing dispenser comprising a stamping of resilient material shaped to provide a pair of opposed jaws adapted to receive a collapsible tube therebetween and connected together at their top ends by a pair of flexible, integral webs shaped to permit the jaws to swing into contact with each other and to swing apart; said webs being spaced apart far enough to permit said tube to pass therebetween; and each of 15 2,390,314

the jaws having at its top end an outwardly, upwardly and inwardly disposed flange medially between and of a length less than the distance between the webs whereby when said dispenser is reversed end for end on said tube said flange fully collapses the outer end portions of the side walls of the tube against the outlet end wall thereof.

HARLAND J. FOGAR'I'Y.

EVA A. FOGARTY.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Hadden June 7, 1932 Massey Dec. 4, 1945 Number 

